With fall snapshots a little over a month away, Garland ISD received positive news in the form of its annual accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

GISD received a “B” rating from the TEA, with two Sachse campuses receiving an “A” rating in the yearly accountability scores released by the agency. Both Sewell Elementary School and Armstrong Elementary School received the top score, getting a 96 and 93, respectively.

Sachse High School and Hudson Middle School both got “B” ratings, registering an 88 and 80, apiece.

This year’s ratings graded 1,195 districts across Texas and 8,451 campuses.

In both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, the TEA did not release any accountability ratings to districts. The ratings were established by the 85th Legislature in House Bill 22 to increase transparency between districts and the public.

Garland ISD Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Kimberly Caddell said the ratings allow the district to celebrate accomplishments of staff during the past school year and compare performance to nearby districts.

For children with economically disadvantaged backgrounds, Caddell said GISD’s students outperformed their state peers in STAAR scores for grades 3-8 in both reading and math. Across the board, the district’s scores on the STAAR reading for grades 3-8 and math grades 3-5 exceeds peers in other Dallas County schools.

While the ratings are useful, they are not able to properly show a bridging of learning loss that occurred because of the pandemic, said Caddell. STAAR results, she said, are better indicators.

“Created in spring 2021, Garland ISD’s Academic Acceleration Plan (AAP) focused on four key areas of priority as a result of the pandemic: K-8 literacy, K-8 mathematics, EOC [End-of-course] success and CCMR [College, Career and Military Readiness],” Caddell said. “While these four areas are part of our larger District Strategic Goal, the AAP’s hyper focus of instructional strategies, educator best practices, and professional development were key to the gains, particularly in the area of reading, where our 2022 outcomes exceed pre-covid performance.”

For the full story, see the Aug. 25 issue of The Sachse News.